ASM Clermont – MHR: two big guns from the Top 14 face off in a volcanic battle this Saturday

Two big packs of forwards, two strong conquests, two teams with big arms… The clash between Clermont and Montpellier risks causing sparks this Saturday, December 28, at the Marcel-Michelin stadium.

FYI, the volcanoes of Auvergne are roaring again. Extinguished since the French championship title in 2017, the Jaunards are slowly being reborn. The Michelin cauldron has started roaring again. We are not yet at the level of the 2010s, a period in which Clermont was an impregnable city (77 matches without defeat at home between 2009 and 2014). But under the leadership of Christophe Urios, a volcano in his own right, ASM is rebuilding its reputation in the Top 14.

“It's tough there”. “A very, very dense team”. Enzo Forletta and Arthur Vincent, pillar and center of the MHR, are not wrong when describing ASM, their opponent this Saturday afternoon. These two and the Montpellier players will rub shoulders with the best in the championship in terms of fundamentals. “We know they are strong at the moment, strong in conquest, in touch, especially on carried balls”, analyses Benson Stanley, head of contact attitudes and rucks within the Hérault club, and above all, former player of the Auvergne club (player between 2012 and 2017).

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“We were too undisciplined last week. We can't give Clermont the chance to have penalty touches in our camp. We want to avoid seeing balls carried in our half of the field. They need to have as few opportunities as possible”, he adds.

“We have to stick to our place”

Fifth overall, Clermont is coming off two complete performances at Leinster (15-7) and La Rochelle (20-15), which is better on the continent. “Certainly they lost, but they managed to match, or even more”, Stanley continues.

Montpellier will therefore test itself. Now renowned for their domination in the scrum and their solidity on the balls carried, Joan Caudullo's men will face their double. “They have more or less the same strong points as us, perhaps a little more structured”, Forletta says. Each contact, each zone of confrontation promises a constant challenge.

Better for several weeks, the Héraultais are no less cautious. “Don't worry, we have our feet firmly on the ground. Even if we feel like we're doing better, everything can be improved. Against Racing (21-17), we could lose. In Bordeaux (9-6), we played a great game but only brought home one point. Against Pau (30-3), we could have killed the game well beforehand but we didn't. We have to stay in our place. We know that bringing something back from Clermont would already be an achievement”, confides, with tweezers, the former Usap player.

Every week is a new challenge for the MHR. Saturday's will be particularly interesting, since Montpellier will measure itself against its mirror, whose reflection is for the moment more imposing.